Israeli Oscar-nominated film opens

Anyone who goes to see "Ajami," opening April 2 at theaters in the tri-county area, will probably agree that Israel was robbed of this year's Award Award for best foreign film.

It was the third year in a row that Israel was nominated for the award — and the third time it didn't get it. This year, it might be hard to explain why it didn't win.

A powerful crime drama set on the streets of Jaffa's Ajami neighborhood — a melting pot of cultures and conflicting views among Jews, Muslims and Christians — and told through the eyes of a cross-section of the city's inhabitants: a young Israeli (Shahir Kabaha) fighting a criminal vendetta against his family, a Palestinian refugee (Ibrahim Frege) working illegally to finance a life-saving surgery, a Jewish police detective (Eran Naim) obsessed with finding his missing brother, and an affluent Palestinian (Scandar Copti) dreaming of a future with his Jewish girlfriend.

As their stories intersect — we witness a dramatic collision of different worlds and the tragic consequences of enemies living as neighbors.

"Ajami" was written, directed and edited by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani. In an e-mail interview, Shani explains why this film will appeal to South Floridians.

"The film is telling a universal story about the human conflict. It could happen anywhere, in every big city or state where you have different religions, ethnic groups and social-economic backgrounds, co-existing as neighbors," he noted. "The bottom line in ‘Ajami' is that human beings are always good. They fight for something they believe is good. But because every human being perceives ‘good' differently, you get a conflict."

What will movie-goers learn from the film that they didn't know before, Shani is asked.

"The movie tells a story in a unique way. It lets you experience the same reality from different points of view. It was also made in a very unusual method of working with real people from the actual reality, so you get an interesting mixture of a fictional drama and almost a documentary spirit," he said. "The film also shows a corner in the Israeli society that was never depicted in cinema before — that of the Arab community inside the most important cultural and economic urban center of Tel Aviv."

Was Shani disappointed "Ajami" didn't win the award.

"Of course we weren't disappointed," he noted. "How can you be disappointed after so many awards and such a big success at cinemas at home."

Another film opening April 2 is "The Yellow Handkerchief," starring William Hurt, Maria Bello, Kristen Stewart, and Eddie Redmayne, and Directed by Udayan Prasad.

The film is a love story about three strangers of two generations who embark on a road trip through post-Katrina Louisiana. Along the way, relationships forge and change in a myriad of ways, leading to the possibility of second chances at life and love.

"The Yellow Handkerchief," was produced by legendary, 6-time Oscar-winning producer Arthur Cohn, whose numerous credits include "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis," Black and White in Color," "Central Station," and "One Day in September."

In a telephone interview, Cohn said the message of "The Yellow Handkerchief" is that "you should never give up" and that "everybody has a second chance."

Cohn added that "79 percent of films today" have violence.

"I wanted to make a film without sex and violence," he said. "I'm against putting sex and violence in a movie just to sell tickets."

Born in Switzerland, Cohn talked about his Jewish roots.

"I'm named after my grandfather, who was the chief rabbi of Switzerland," he said.

Cohn noted that the First Zionist Congress took place in Basel, Switzerland partly because his grandfather was open to the new movement, founded by Theodor Herzl.

"Herzl was anxious to have religious Jews support his movement," Cohn said.

Cohn also talked about his film "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis," and how the effect the movie had on director Steven Spielberg.

"I'm privileged that Steven Spielberg said he would not have done " Schindler's List," without seeing ‘The Garden of the Finzi-Continis,'" Cohn said.